The invention is directed to a method and apparatus of solutions of liquids and soluble dry materials, whereby a supply of liquid material is continuously available for utilization in quantities commensurate with the use application.
The present invention has particular application in the food processing industry in connection with the preparation of liquid sugar, and the like, and therefore will be discussed and described in connection with such application. However, it will be appreciated that the invention has application in many fields involving the processing of liquid and dry materials, in which its novel features may be used to advantage.
It will therefore be appreciated that this specific reference to "sugar", "water", "liquid sugar", etc. are merely illustrative; and even in the food processing industry, there are specific representatives of other sweetners and materials involved in food processing.
Most, if not all, food preparations commercially vended contain some quantity of sugar and/or sweetners, and it is therefore necessary to provide supplies of sugar and/or blends sufficient to fill the desired needs.
It will be appreciated, with respect to such application, that where sugar is employed in very small quantities, it may be stored, measured out and utilized in dry form. However, when large commercial quantities are involved, the storage, transportation, measurement and general handling thereof raises various problems in connection with its use in the finished product. It will be appreciated that the handling of dry sugar bags requires manual handling as well as suitable conveyor or transporting equipment, storage space for the bags of sugar at use points and additional labor in connection with the handling of the bags and supply of sugar to the use equipment. In view of such disadvantages, it has been found expedient in many, if not most, cases to employ sugar in the form of a liquid, i.e. sugar and water, which may be readily transported by suitable liquid handling systems and readily measured as to quantity by automatic or semi-automatic equipment. While this type of operation, of necessity, includes some form of storage system, necessitating a relatively large storage system with attendant space loss, as both sugar and water is stored, as compared with merely the storage of dry sugar, the above referred advantages have in most cases rendered its use desirable.
In the handling of liquid sugar, where the amount utilized is comparatively small, the manufacturer may provide merely adequate tankage to accommodate his normal use requirements, with his sugar being received in liquid form by tank truck and pumped directly into the storage tank system. It will be appreciated that as the amount of sugar utilized increases, the storage requirements likewise must proportionately increase to accommodate the additional volume, as well as accommodate sufficient sugar to span periods between deliveries.
Where the manufacturer utilizes sugar in sufficiently large quantities, it may be considered advantageous to install a complete conversion system for converting the dry sugar into liquid form thereby eliminating the additional handing by tank truck, etc. as well as eliminating additional storage facilities required by periodic deliveries.
Where the manufacturer has installed his own plant, batches of liquid sugar are processed in substantially the same manner as at remote conversion plants whereby merely the transportation of liquid sugar is saved, as in this case adequate storage tank capacity still must be provided as well as space for the equipment and dry sugar.